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With as much as a foot of snow expected to blanket the region on Wednesday, bringing wind gusts of nearly 45 mph, officials from Orange and Rockland Utility are cautioning residents to be cautious during the fourth Nor’easter of the month.

An alert was issued on Wednesday afternoon, declaring a storm warning in the area as O&R mobilizes its workforce for a “significant, all-hands, weather event.” Officials said that all personnel available on all shifts have been enlisted to help battle the latest batch of winter weather.

Additionally, nearly 400 out-of-state overhead line technicians have been brought in to supplement its own field forces for this event, and the company is seeking more resources.

According to officials, “company and contractor overhead line crews and tree removal crews are ramped up for a high-volume outage response today and beyond as necessary as are damage assessment, site safety, Customer Service and the wide array of O&R teams that support those functions.”

“As we know from the three Nor’easters we’ve endured since March began, severe storm activity has the potential to cause power line damage and electric service interruptions. O&R is ready to repair storm damage and restore service as needed.”

Officials said that any downed power line should be treated as if they are energized and dangerous. Motorists should avoid driving over any downed lines, and a distance no less than 50 feet should be maintained if a line goes down. If a fallen wire is draped over a car, it should not be touched, and officials should be notified by calling 1-877-434-4100.